‘Cats lose to Sammamish, beat Newport
Published 9:30 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
BELLEVUE – Dirk Hansen’s Wildcats took to the softball field at Sammamish High School last Tuesday knowing they were up against one of the toughest teams in the league, but that didn’t keep them from trying.
“Sammamish is expected to win it all this year,” Hansen said. “On the other hand, I really see a lot of potential and promise in us.”
The Wildcats were down three runs after only the first inning and went 1-2-3 in the top of the second inning. At the end of the second, they were trailing by five runs, but in the third they were finally able to make contact on a fly ball to second base.
A hit into left field by Sammamish in the bottom of the third followed by another Totems hit resulted in three more runs. At the end of three, the Wildcats trailed Sammamish 8-0.
But in the top of the fourth, Heather Lewis hit one into center field and made it to first base. Then a bunt by Laura Mijal that popped around home plate for what seemed like a minute left the Sammamish catcher fumbling for the ball. Luckily for the Wildcats, she did not make the throw to first base in time.
After a few more hits by the Wildcats, Lewis made it across home plate and brought in the first score for the Wildcats. Then a pop-up headed straight to Sammamish’s second baseman was caught for the third out.
Sophomore pitchers Alison Moorehead and Ashley Beck took the mound for Mount Si.
“I was happy with the defense, but frustrated with the pitching,” Hansen said. “We will struggle all year with Sammamish. They have superior pitching and if our pitching gets better, we will finish a game or two over .500 this season.”
Moorehead pitched a majority of the games last year and is expected to be even more consistent this year. Hansen said that Beck has good ball control and usually throws strikes.
In the top of the sixth inning, left fielder Mijal saved the team from dropping another run to the Totems when she caught a high ball that looked like it was headed for the fence. But instead, it fell short, gliding about a foot over Mijal’s head. She extended her arm to stretch for it and, much to everyone’s surprise, caught it. It was the third out for Sammamish.
The Wildcats scored one more run in the bottom of the sixth, but were unable to bring in any more after that. The Totems hit a couple more off the Wildcats and scored one more in the seventh, ending the game with a 9-2 lead over the Wildcats.
On Thursday, Mount Si beat Newport 3-1. Moorehead pitched the entire game and threw seven strike outs, walking only two people.
“She did a nice job of controlling the plate with her pitches,” Hansen said. “She had them stumped.”
Mount Si plays Mercer Island at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 29, at Island Crest Park.
